PORTLAND PILOTS (7-4) vs. NEVADA WOLF PACK (7-5)
GAME #13
Mon., Dec. 28, 2009 - 7:05 p.m. PT - Lawlor Events Center (11,536) - Reno, Nev.
TELEVISION: Live internet streaming at www.nevadawolfpack.com (subscription fee)
RADIO: University of Nevada Sports Network (ESPN Radio 630 AM, Reno;
KELK 1240 AM, Elko; KHWG 750 AM, Fallon & KSVL 92.3 FM, Yerington)
Ryan Radtke (play-by-play) & Len Stevens (color), pregame show starts at 6:30 p.m. PT
SERIES HISTORY: Portland leads the all-time series with Nevada 23-18.
LAST MEETING: Portland has won the last two meetings between the two teams, most recently turning in a 63-61 victory over Nevada on Nov. 29, 2008, in Portland, Ore.
Following a 99-68 victory over Tulsa in last week's HOOPTV Las Vegas Classic, the Nevada Wolf Pack (7-5) wraps up its preseason non-conference slate with a game against the Portland Pilots (7-4) on Monday night. Monday's game at Lawlor Events Center will tip off at 7:05 p.m. Pacific Time and can be heard on Nevada's flagship radio station, ESPN 630 AM, with Ryan Radtke calling the action. Nevada has won five of its last six games and got its first victory away from home with last week's rout of Tulsa. The Wolf Pack looks to build on this year's perfect 6-0 home record Monday vs. the Pilots. Following Monday's game, the Wolf Pack will open Western Athletic Conference play on the road this weekend, traveling to Louisiana Tech on Saturday, Jan. 2 and New Mexico State on Monday, Jan. 4.
Under the direction of first-year head coach David Carter, the Wolf Pack returned three starters and a total of eight letterwinners from last year's 21-13 team, including the preseason WAC Player of the Year in sophomore forward Luke Babbitt who led the team in scoring and rebounding last season as a true freshman and preseason first-team All-WAC selection junior guard Armon Johnson who was second on the team in scoring and paced the Wolf Pack in assists last year. This season's team also features three seniors in guards Brandon Fields and Ray Kraemer and forward Joey Shaw as well as five new faces. Last season, Nevada turned in its sixth consecutive year with at least 20 wins and earned the team's seventh consecutive postseason appearance with an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational.
WINNING AT LAWLOR
The Wolf Pack has won 56 of its last 68 contests at Lawlor Events Center, including 31 of its last 41 home games dating back to the start of the 2007-08 season. Including a 13-3 mark in 2007-08, a 13-8 mark in 2008-09 and a 6-0 record this year, the Wolf Pack has turned in a 92-17 record at Lawlor Events Center since the start of the 2003-04 season (.844 winning percentage).
Nevada has also captured 25 of its last 29 WAC regular-season home games and 30 of its last 36 home games against WAC opponents counting the 2006 and 2009 WAC Tournaments. A Jan. 19, 2008 loss to Boise State snapped the Wolf Pack's 14-game winning streak in WAC home games, including a perfect 8-0 mark in 2006-07 and a 2-0 mark to start the 2007-08 season (finished 7-1). That 14-game win streak had dated back to January of 2006. Nevada's losses to Louisiana Tech on Feb. 5 and New Mexico State on Feb. 7, 2009 marked its first back-to-back WAC home losses since falling to Louisiana Tech and SMU in January of 2002.
ABOUT THE PORTLAND PILOTS
Under the direction of fourth-year head coach Eric Reveno (44-62 record in three-plus years at UP), the Portland Pilots returned all five starters and a total of 10 letterwinners from last year's 19-13 team. The Pilots finished in third place in the West Coast Conference last season with a 9-5 conference mark. Portland brings a 7-4 record into Monday's game with the Wolf Pack, most recently thrashing Idaho 82-52 on Tuesday, Dec. 22 in Portland.
Senior guard Nik Raivio (6-4, 205) is leading three Portland players in double figures for scoring at 14.5 points per game. Senior guard T.J. Campbell (5-9, 190) is adding 13.2 points per contest. Junior forward Luke Sikma (6-8, 235) is the Pilots' top rebounder at 7.4 boards per game, while junior guard Jared Stohl (6-1, 165) is shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc and has made a team-best 30 three-pointers, including a school-record 10 treys for 30 points in the victory over Idaho.
IN THE SERIES
Portland leads the all-time series with Nevada 23-18. The Pilots have won the last two meetings between the two teams, including a 63-61 victory on Nov. 29, 2008 in Portland. Prior to those two games, the Wolf Pack had won four straight contests in the series and is 9-2 in the last 11 meetings between the two teams in Reno.
Nevada is 148-212 all time against teams from the West Coast Conference and spent 10 seasons as a member of that league (1969-70 to 1978-79). The Wolf Pack has won five of its last seven games against squads from the WCC, including victories over Santa Clara and San Diego in 2007-08 and three wins in 2006-07 (at Santa Clara, vs. Saint Mary's and vs. Gonzaga in the Battle in Seattle). Last year, Nevada dropped two games to WCC opponents, falling at San Diego and Portland.
WOLF PACK NEWS & NOTES
- Nevada has turned in two of its top three scoring efforts of the season in its last two games, including 104 in Tuesday's loss to BYU and 99 points in Wednesday's victory over Tulsa. The team has averaged 101.5 points per game in its last two games and 88.5 ppg in its last six contests (531). This season marks the first time since 1997-98 that the team has topped the century mark twice in the same year. The Wolf Pack turned in a season-high 112 points in its 112-99 win over Houston on Nov. 21 and had 104 in its 110-104 loss to BYU Dec. 22. The 31-point win over Tulsa (99-68) also marked Nevada's largest margin of victory this season.
- Nevada leads the WAC in scoring offense and ranks 37th in the NCAA this season at 83.3 points per game, up from its average of 70.6 ppg last year. Four Wolf Pack players are averaging in double figures for scoring this season, and three are ranked in the WAC's top 15. Sophomore Luke Babbitt is leading the team and ranked fourth in the WAC at 19.6 points per game (40th in the NCAA), while junior Armon Johnson is seventh at 17.1 points per game and senior Brandon Fields ranks 10th at 14.7 points per contest.
- Nevada has shot 57.5 percent from the field in its last two games (76-132), including a 58.8-percent effort vs. BYU and a 56.3-percent showing vs. Tulsa. The Wolf Pack leads the WAC in field goal percentage at 49.8, up from 42.7 percent last season. Nevada has now shot over 50 percent in seven of its 12 games this season, including five of its last six games, and is 6-1 this year when shooting 50 percent or better.
- The Wolf Pack has also checked in at 48.4 percent from three-point land in the last two games (15-31), matching its season high with a 50-percent effort Wednesday vs. Tulsa (9-18). Nevada had shot just 20.5 percent from three-point land in its three previous games (9-44) before the BYU and Tulsa efforts.
- Senior Ray Kraemer leads the WAC in three-point percentage, knocking down 52.4 percent of his long-range attempts (22-42). He has shot 77.8 percent in the last two games (7-9), matching his career bests for treys made and attempted with a 4-of-6 effort vs. BYU and making all three attempts vs. Tulsa.
- Sophomore Luke Babbitt led the team with 24 points and 11 rebounds in Wednesday's victory over Tulsa, marking his eighth double-double of the season. He leads the team and is tied for fifth in the nation with eight double-doubles and has had nine or more rebounds in nine of 12 games this season.
- Babbitt leads the Wolf Pack in scoring and rebounding after pacing the squad in both categories last season. He ranks fourth in the WAC with 19.6 points per game (40th in the NCAA) and second in the conference at 9.8 boards per contest (28th in the nation in rebounding). Babbitt has had 16 career games with at least 20 points (including a team-best five this year) and has led the team in scoring 20 times in his young career (15 times last year and five this season). He has scored in double figures in 43 of 46 career games at Nevada, including all 12 contests this year. The preseason WAC Player of the Year, Babbitt has been named to the preseason watch lists for the 2009-10 John R. Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy. Both awards are annually presented to the top player in college basketball.
- Junior Armon Johnson led the Wolf Pack with a season-high 30 points in Tuesday's loss to BYU. It marked the fourth time this year that he has led the team in scoring, while it was his second career 30-point game and was three points shy of his career best of 33 last year vs. California. In the last eight games, starting with 20 points Nov. 29 at North Carolina, Johnson has averaged 18.1 points per game (145) and shot 58.7 percent from the field (64-109).
- Johnson paced five Wolf Pack players in double figures for scoring in the loss to BYU, including three with at least 20 points. That marked the second time this season that Nevada has had three players with at least 20 points in the same game (Houston was the other game). Sophomore Dario Hunt added a career-best 21 points, making 7-of-10 field goal attempts and 7-of-8 free throw attempts, sophomore Luke Babbitt turned in 20 points, including 14 in the second half, and seniors Brandon Fields and Ray Kraemer chipped in with 15 and 14 points, respectively. The Wolf Pack has had at least four players in double figures for scoring in 10 of its 12 games this season.
- A candidate for the 2010 Bob Cousy Award, Johnson ranks second in the WAC with 4.92 assists per game and ranks 10th on the Nevada career lists with 315 assists. Johnson is just the sixth player in Wolf Pack history to turn in 1,000 points and 250 assists in his career, checking in at 15th all time at Nevada with 1,111 points.
- Nevada outrebounded Tulsa 40-34, marking the seventh consecutive game that the Wolf Pack has outrebounded its opponent and the ninth time in 10 contests. The team is now 6-3 when outrebounding its opponent this season. The team continues to lead the WAC in rebounding with 40.2 boards per contest. Babbitt ranks second in the league with 9.8 rebounds per game, while sophomore Dario Hunt is eighth at 7.4 boards per contest.
